


WereCroc

by MarrowMeister



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood, Cannibalism, Domestic, Gore, Murder, TF, Transformation, Violence, Werecroc, Werewolf, shortstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 17:30:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18503701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarrowMeister/pseuds/MarrowMeister
Summary: You know what a werewolf is? It's kinda like that but he's a wereCROCODILESobek has a bit of a condition. He's not quite sure how he got it but it has affected his daily life since it began to manifest. His skin began to blister and fall off, revealing scales of a leathery texture beneath. His eyes changed and when he looked in the mirror, something more primal looked back. Sobek was no longer human, although he was not entirely the creature his body was becoming.Also there's some hardcore violence but overall it's a pretty domestic look at how things would work.





	WereCroc

           

**Total Word Count: 10,348**

“Dude, I can’t get over your eyes.”

The man stared deeply into his best friend’s pupils, not so much looking for anything specific as just admiring their abnormality.

            “They’re just so weird and fucking cool as shit.”

 Sobek scratched aggressively at his forearms, his peeling skin providing its frustrating sensation against the underlying scales. His fingernails, pointed at their tips, but still arguably human in appearance provided the necessary sharpness needed to separate the vascular flesh from the armor like plates beneath. The skin flaked and peeled in large chunks, falling to the floor. The undersides of his fingernails coated a reddish brown from the blood that warned when Sobek worked a little _too_ hard at his skin.

            “like, its totally obvious why you cover yourself up the way you do. But dude, you’re just, like…”

There was a short pause as his friend searched for the appropriate words to describe his awe.

            “Can I, like, touch you? I know that sounded weird but I kinda have to get over this whole thing before I can act like it wont amaze me every second for the next, oh, I don’t know, REST OF MY LIFE”

Sobek couldn’t help but smile, a wave of happiness blew over as he felt nothing but pure acceptance and positivity from his best friend. It had taken a couple years for him to grow comfortable with his own condition and even longer before finally deciding to just reveal the intimate details to pretty much the only person that mattered in his life. Sobek halted his scratching and raised his arm, fully pulling back his long-sleeved shirt all the way to his shoulder before resting his arm over his friend’s lap.

            “so like, you just have fucking SCALES **UNDER** your skin?” he slid his fingertips across Sobek’s forearm, the bumps and tears where he had managed to fully remove the skin revealing several plates of a pale yellow-green and white blend flesh beneath. “So if I do this-“ the man brushed his finger across portions of the skin that appeared whole and uninjured “versus this-“ he moved to lightly drag against the revealed scales “-what exactly does that feel like?”

            “Well, its kinda hard to say. When you touch my skin it feels, well, like it should. Like skin. I can feel your fingertip and how hard you press and whatever. But when you touch my scales its like, a barrier of numbness. Like there’s something lost in translation. I can feel the pressure and whatnot but It feels _different_. Like a whole new sensation.”

            “okay so you’re kinda in like a half human half alligator body…?” his friend ran his eyes up and down once more, lingering on Sobek’s eyes once more.

            “uh well I’m actually like 90 percent sure I’m part crocodile. Not alligator” he chuckled passively at the distinction.

            “So what else is exactly different?” his friend prodded, half-jokingly half inquisitively. “like, I’m not gonna ask you to strip down or anything-“ there was a pause as both visibly considered such an awkward but also revealing notion.”

            “So,” Sobek paused contemplating his next words carefully. “I’ve kinda been like this for a few years so its hard to form a solid basis of comparison. Like, I have way better night vision than before. I can pretty much see in the middle of the night no problem. I basically had to reteach myself a bunch of mannerisms and stuff. Like, you may or may not have noticed but I try not to move my mouth much when I talk, like a shitty ventriloquist.”

“yeah” his friend interrupted with an inquisitive look on his face.

“Well,” Sobek lifted his lips slowly, clearly a bit nervous at the multitude of possible responses that awaited him.

“bruh.” Cyrus had to force his excitement to be contained, resisting the urge to pry open Sobek’s mouth and examine his entire biology. “you’ve got fuckin _fangs_ man”

“well, not quite fangs, but yeah. It was quite a terrifying night when all my teeth fell out and these fuckers started growing in. going from all of your flat capped human teeth to these sharp as fuck cones of death was… a bit of a learning moment.” Sobek brought his tongue across his teeth carefully and smiled with great exaggeration, showing as much of his mouth as he could for the very first time since the very first time he stared into the mirror in disbelief.

“So you got fuckin scales, fangs, and those crazy green eyes. Is there anything ELSE I should know. You’re like a werewolf or something, except for an alligator.” Cyrus stated excitedly practically jumping in his seat.

“I said I am a crocodile Cyrus, not an alligator.” Sobek corrected politely and motioned across his body.

“right yes sorry.” Cyrus nodded his head, agreeing. Sobek patted his friend’s knee and smiled happily.

“thanks for being so cool about this whole thing, like. This was a big deal for me.” Sobek absently scratched at his arms further, the long sleeve sliding down to the joint of his wrist. “The biggest issue is making sure I don’t touch my face, like. Its hard enough to hide my arms and chest and shit, but if I fucked my face up people would definitely notice.” Sobek picked at his left forearm, plucking a lightly bleeding fragment of skin and pulled it off with a wince. The scales beneath gleaming with a magnificent gloss. “I haven’t checked my back much cause its hard to see and hard to reach, but I can feel like- I can feel my spine when I sit down and lean against a wall or something. Cyrus brushed the freshly revealed plates along Sobek’s wrist, enjoying the unique reptilian texture.

“can I see… well, everything?” Cyrus stared up and down, the awkward pause between them finally dissipating after a few seconds. “I don’t mean it in a weird way- but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.” Sobek visibly considered before reaching for the bottom of his long-sleeved shirt gripping its base and lifting. Sobek stood up from his position and tossed his shirt onto the bedspread of the apartment bedroom. He brought his arms up above his head to stretch, pushing his muscles outward and flexing. Cyrus’s eyes scanned and fixated to his bets friend’s torso. Sobek glanced downward and examined his own body. After years of constant scratching and pulling at his human skin there was only abdominal and torso plates that remained. Sobek ran his hand across his abdomen, the smooth scales feeling completely natural, opposing how they had felt when they first appeared.

“Dude. You don’t have nipples. Like- at all” Cyrus brought his hand forward and poked where his nipples had once been. “I really like that you have that whole like, crocodile belly thing” Cyrus examined where the whitish-green coloring suddenly shifted to a much more emboldened and solid green along his midaxillary line. Cyrus slid his palm from Sobek’s sternum down to this center of his belly, just barely above the top of the black artificial leather belt securing Sobek’s pants, the pink cotton of his underwear just barely visible. “you don’t have a belly button anymore either… how did that happen?”

“Well-“ Sobek uncomfortably pulled his pants just a tad higher “- Crocodiles don’t have belly buttons, or nipples. Mine just kind of… like fell off. When I peeled this skin off, my scales underneath just kinda didn’t have those.” Sobek brought his right hand across his body and under his armpit, attempting to scratch just above the shoulder blade. His pointed fingernails audibly scraping against the leather like hide that had grown across his back. Cyrus circled around his friend in an attempt to achieve a clearer view at Sobek’s back. He gawked and stared at the wholly bizarre sight of his previously human friend’s posterior. The entirety of his shoulders and large portions of his lower back still held their strong olive human skin, but patches had been scraped off over the years wherever he could reach. A pencil thin streak of blood trickled downwards from the left side skin patch where Sobek had just barely nicked with his fingernail just moments earlier.

“What’s going on with your spine or, like your back. These things?” Cyrus brushed down the midline of Sobek’s back and against the symmetrical protrusions lining bilaterally against his spine before disappearing under his pink underwear.

“Those? They’re like, the little spiny things that crocodiles have. I don’t think they have a name but-“ Sobek continued happily informing his friend regarding his biological condition.

“WAIT! Do you have a tail?” Cyrus visibly held himself back from reaching to probe his friend’s tailbone. “Like, How much crocodile ARE you exactly?” another moment of awkward tension reared its head as Cyrus stared at his friend’s ass and clearly wished to investigate further.

“No I don’t have a tail Cyrus. And-“ his voice lowered as he shifted uncomfortably “everything works fine downstairs.” Cyrus grinned at the brief thought but shut himself down, clearly aware of Sobek’s body language. Sobek reached for the long black sleeved shirt that had been resting on his bedspread just next to where he was standing. “okay so now that we’ve gotten this whole thing over with, do you like. Uh. Have any questions? Or just. Uh, yeah.” Sobek brought his left hand through the sleeve of the shirt, the cotton and polyester material of the clothing softly brushing against the different skin textures of his body. He pulled the rest of the shirt over his body and allowed his torso to go back to its previously hidden appearance. Sobek examined his hands closely and frowned “I’m gonna have to start wearing gloves soon, my scales are starting to show through on my knuckles and these fingernails are a bitch to trim.” Sobek pulled the sleeves down further attempting to cover more of his wrists then they already were.

“So uh, like how did this even happen dude?” The question was clearly out of genuine curiosity.

“Well,” Sobek began dramatically, “I was bitten by a radioactive crocodile at the zoo and have never been the same since.” They both immediately broke into laughter and Sobek attempted to collect himself in order to properly answer the question.

“Wait oh my god, is that why you stopped being a vegetarian?” Cyrus questioned “cause like, that must’ve been weird as fuck.”

“Yeah basically, I mean. After the whole thing started kicking into high gear and my body started actually changing, which was a few weeks after the whole like- Okay so remember how I used to have that stupid thyroid disorder, like I used to have that super overactive thyroid? Basically I went through some bullshit clinical experiment with some experimental drug to fix that without having to deal with surgery or whatever. Not like some crazy radioactive super drug or anything, it was just like. Like it was supposed to help my thyroid regulate itself better and I guess it was derived from crocodilian DNA or related to crocodile metabolism or something… either that or I got a blood transfusion from another werecroc…” The absurdity of such a story felt ridiculous as Sobek told it. The sheer implausibility of such an incident making him feel as though he should be institutionalized for even saying these things out loud. “so yea, I’m like half crocodile or something now. It started slow but got really bad real quick and I’ve just been covering it up for the last two-ish years.” Cyrus raised his finger slowly, preparing to ask another question. “Yes Cyrus, that’s why I stopped being a vegetarian-“ Cyrus lowered his finger slowly “-Crocodiles are carnivores and whenever I eat other stuff my stomach has a fit. I even have to make sure my meat is borderline raw, which like, was gross as fuck when I started but after a couple years it grows on you. Love me some boneless skinless chicken breasts cause I can just swallow the whole fuckin thing.”  Cyrus’s face contorted mildly into a look of disgust at the idea of consuming raw meat. Total silence sat alongside the pair in the room for roughly a minute. “So. Like, are we good? I’m not gonna eat you or anything. I mean not unless you give me a reason to-“ Sobek grinned wildly allowing his teeth to shine through such an exaggerated maniacal grin. The pair laughed together before Cyrus’s face lit up once more.

“So you said werecrocodile, Do you like, _turn_ into one?” Cyrus excitedly looked up and down.

“Into what?” Sobek questioned, examining the dried skin that had collected on the floor below him.

“Like into a were…Crocodile. Like a full-on monster looking _thing_. Like in the movies, like an actual straight up monster.” Cyrus was clearly excited at the thought.

“no dude, no. like how would that even WORK” Sobek scratched behind his neck lightly, careful to not tear the little remaining skin on one of the only exposed sections of his body. “Like, not as far as I know dude. I just have a lot of like crocodile tendencies, I guess. Spent a lot of time on the internet trying to learn what I can and can’t do. The last thing I want is to like eat a chocolate bar and find out that shit is like cyanide to crocs. On the bright side I don’t have to eat nearly as often, but dude, going from warm blooded to cold blooded is wild. Like, you don’t actually realize you’re cold blooded until you’ve been sitting in a cold room with a huge ass blanket on and grasp the fact that you’re still getting colder. “That’s why I have these-“ Sobek reached down to the bottom of his cargo pants and lifted the right pant leg. His right leg was completely exposed underneath, crocodilian plates completely visible with no human skin remaining. Sobek lifted his leg and pulled at his shoe, the black boots tugging back before finally releasing and clattering to the floor. Cyrus took note of the odd bulging beneath his sock as Sobek reached inside the cloth, pulling out a bright blue plastic square. “These gel pad things are very helpful-“ he laughed “-They hold heat pretty well, so I just microwave em and stick em in my shoes or under my clothes or whatever. Its much easier in the summer, but since its winter and been snowing like crazy all month I have to be careful. It doesn’t exactly snow much in Egypt so like, yeah.” Cyrus briefly examined the warm pad before handing it back to Sobek who quickly placed it back inside of his clothes and pulled his pant leg down once more. Cyrus stood up from his position. “Are we going?” Sobek flicked his wrist and looked at his watch.

“So like, are you- can you eat? Like at the restaurant? Or… do you wanna go somewhere else or like. Yeah, what do you wanna do now. Really throwin a wrench into our dinner plans.” Cyrus chuckled at the question but his face switched back to that of seriousness.

“yeah man, like you haven’t noticed my fuckin condition yet so what makes you think anything would change.” Sobek Shrugged and tugged at his sleeves once more. “I just gotta get ready real quick, just some makeup and my contacts. Cyrus nodded affirmatively and allowed his friend to disappear into the nearby bathroom, the light flooding into the bedroom and illuminating the area.

Sobek shuffled around the bathroom, pulling out a small container of foundation that visibly matched his own skin color. The initial learning process of how to contour and blend the basic foundation colors in order to appear as natural and light as possible was difficult, but after several years he had grown quite adept at such a skill. It only took a few minutes before the final touches had been applied. Sobek stared deeply into the mirror, his menacing reptilian eyes watching deeply as he scanned his face and the small area of his neck that remained exposed. The visible scaling beneath the thin and dried skin now completely opaque and covered by such expertly applied makeup.

“You all good in there?” Cyrus called out playfully, knowing full well that his friend was simply cleaning up.

Sobek ignored the light mocking by his friend and opened the small circular case at the corner of the bathroom counter. Two large dome like lenses floated in a clear fluid, distinct from standard contacts in that they were designed to cover the sclera of an eye too. Sobek ran his hands under the warm water of his faucet and washed with hand soap thoroughly. With his still wet hand he poked the lens and allowed it to stick to his fingertip, still being very careful to not allow contact with his sharp fingernail. Sobek pulled his left bottom eye lid down and looked upwards, carefully applying pressure to the eyeball. The lens adhered to the eyeball and Sobek blinked hard twice before looking into the mirror once more. His deep solid green eye with a long slit in the middle on one side looking as inhuman as ever when directly compared to his now traditionally human appearing blue eye. When Sobek leaned further into the mirror and examined the contact with scrutiny he could see a greenish tinge just below the white sclera of the lens, but not enough to recognize unless one knew what to look for.

“Okay dude are we good, are you ready now?” Cyrus leaned into the bathroom as he finished his inquiry. Sobek turned back to look at his friend with a slightly displeased glare, emitting a quiet hissing sound from his partially open mouth that could easily have been mistaken for something directly out of a nature documentary. “Ah.” Cyrus stated plainly and returned to the bedroom, unsure of what just happened.

Sobek returned to his process of placing his second lens into his eye. Finishing up his human appearance transformation in order to allow travelling to the outside world. The second lens slid in just as easily as the first, a process that had become much easier over time. Sobek glanced at the mirror once more taking in an approximation of what he had looked like prior to his transformation. “All right I’m ready to go.” Sobek flipped the bathroom light and beckoned to Cyrus who had been standing beside the bed. They stepped into the small living room of the apartment together and shuffled through the darkness towards the front door.

“Man you must save a fortune on electricity though, do you just not really use lights anymore?” Cyrus worked at assuring he would avoid the vague outlines of objects, trying to make his way to the door.

“I mean in theory sure, but I still generally do it all out of habit. Sometimes the challenge is trying to make it dark enough that I can’t really see. It’s hard forcing myself to sleep when I can see everything in my room like it’s the middle of the day.” Cyrus nodded understandingly as Sobek turned his door locks and stepped into the hallway, motioning for his friend to follow. Cyrus waited as his friend’s keys jingled, locking the door and walking down the carpeted hall. The pair reached the elevator door and Sobek pressed the glass number 6 which glowed brightly. Sobek heard Cyrus’s stomach rumble passively.

“Dude I haven’t eaten like all day, I had some eggs this morning at the cafeteria hall but not a whole lot. Pretty much nothing since then.” Cyrus lamented over his hunger, salivating at the coming meal. The restaurant they planned on driving to was one of the pair’s favorites, they generally went every week or week and a half.

Sobek chuckled and patted his belly, a puff of air flowing out of his shirt from the force against his skin. “I pretty much only eat when we go out. Like, occasional snack sure. Lots of water, but I pretty much only eat a meal when we go out. My metabolism is super weird now. I basically like, can’t do anything too energetic or else I feel really sick really easily, but I only need to really eat like once a week or so. I could probably eat more if I wanted to but its rare that I actually get straight up hungry. I haven’t actually tested by limits or anything but the longest I’ve gone without eating is like two weeks or so.” Sobek continued out into the apartment lobby, reaching for the front door as the pair passed a small group of what was likely three friends hanging out.

“Dude that’s so fuckin wild, but like. Do you miss it? Like do you miss food?” Cyrus opened the front door and allowed a gust of chilling wind into the building, his heavy flannel jacket fought off the brunt of the chill but he still felt his skin tighten from the weather.

“Uh I mean, not really. Its not an issue, I still eat whatever I want, its just that since I don’t really get hungry anymore a lot of urges to eat certain foods are gone. Like when I think of junk food my brain just kinda isn’t interested and more so craves meats and proteins and shit. Haven’t eaten a stray cat yet” he laughed lightly.

“Aren’t you cold?” Cyrus asked as the two walked through the parking lot, kicking the powdery snow into the air. Cyrus glanced at his friend’s outfit, only a standard long sleeved shirt and pants separating him from the elements; Heavily contrasting against his own thick plaid jacket, navy blue sweatpants, and faded red cotton scarf.

“It’s sort of weird feeling-“ they reached a bright blue pickup truck, clearly a recent model. Its incredibly clean paintjob fighting for dominance against the muddy snow around the wheels and bottoms of the doors. Cyrus opened the driver’s door and stepped in, rubbing his hands together aggressively before shuffling through his pockets for a set of keys. The engine rumbled to life and cool air blew from the vents, Cyrus flailed in mild panic attempting to shut the vents and set the air conditioning dial as warm as it would turn. “It’s like, I feel cold and all that. But its more of a numbness or like. Like I recognize it is cold and shit, but it doesn’t really bother me, I just sort of feel slower or sluggish.” The car rolled out of its parking place and on to the road, Sobek and Cyrus both clearly enjoying the now warm air blowing from the small vents flanking the drivers and passenger seats of the vehicle. Cyrus focused on the road as Sobek pulled his phone out of his pocket, the glow of the screen forcing a reflexive squint against the darkness of the vehicle cabin.

“What time is it?” Cyrus asked, taking note of the light his friend held. “its always harder to tell in winter cause of how early the sun goes down.”

“Its just a little past 7” Sobek felt himself lean as the car took a tight turn. He stared at his phone screen and scrolled through his social media. The car ride passed rather quickly, the restaurant only being a few blocks from Sobek’s apartment. “Want me to go in and get a table while you look for a parking place or like what” Sobek asked right as Cyrus pulled to the front entrance of the chain eatery and motioned for him to get out. Sobek closed the small distance to the entrance, holding the door open as an older couple nodded thankfully and walked in. The air in the building was significantly warmer than outside, Sobek approached the counter and smiled, careful not to show his abnormal teeth. The hostess was a rather dark-skinned woman, probably in her late twenties. Her eyebrows were carefully drawn on, light black eyeshadow and very short and tightly coiled hair. Sobek raised two fingers as she looked up and she immediately registered his intention.

“It is going to be approximately 5 minutes for an inside table, will that be okay sir?” The woman smiled artificially, her work in the world of customer service likely desensitizing her to any real social interaction while at work.

“That’s totally fine, thank you.” Sobek turned and sat down in a nearby chair, awaiting either Cyrus’s return from the parking lot or the hostess to direct him to his table. Sobek did his best to not rub his forearms or face, their constant itchiness providing a frustrating issue he had to deal with on a daily basis. The protruding spinal scutes rubbed uncomfortably against the back of the chair. Sobek leaned forward in an attempt to remove the pressure from his posterior spinal area. Cyrus entered through the nearby door and nodded to Sobek affirmatively just as the hostess called Sobek for his table. The two followed the woman to their table, a full booth typically meant for a family. The pair sat down and listened to the hostess mention that their waiter would be with them shortly and handed them the laminated menus. The friends sat on opposite sides of the table and quickly scanned their menus. Sobek took note of the odd stickiness he felt across the plastic covering of the menu and brushed the thought aside as his mind gravitated past the appetizers section and straight to the hamburgers. Their waiter approached the table and the smiled artificially, the same plastic smile that the hostess had.

“Hello, my name is James and I will be your server tonight. Are we ready to order or would we like some more time?” he spoke from a clearly rehearsed script. He reached over and poured icy water into their empty glasses.

“Uh, I mean I think we know what we want?” Cyrus looked at Sobek for reassurance. Sobek nodded back and took a deep sip from his water. The waiter produced a pen and paper pad from his shirt pocket and clicked the top against his chest. “Yeah man I’ll have a Caesar to start and the blackened chicken breast. Thanks” The waiter nodded and turned to Sobek.

Sobek mentally rehearsed his order over and over, assuring he would not misspeak. The one pound slab of meat burger that he wished to order floating around in his mind. “Maxis pound burger, rare please. Side of fries, and ten buffalo wings to start. Thank you.” The waiter nodded and mumbled out something about being back with the food as soon as possible. Sobek took another deep sip of his water glass, which was now nothing but ice cubes sitting at the bottom. “Yeah I kinda think I need more water than before?” Cyrus looked at the empty glass and then back at his own that he had not yet touched.

“Okay but now that I know like, what I know” he emphasized his statement. “Do you think you can give it to someone, like a werewolf. Like if you bit me would I turn into one too?” Cyrus tried and failed to mask his excitement as Sobek shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

“Dude, I’m not gonna give it to you, even if I did know if it worked. Its like a glorified skin condition. It’s not like I’m turning into a badass monster on a full moon or anything. Just. Just imagine how uncomfortable it is to have to hide who you are wherever you go. I had to uproot my entire lifestyle for this thing. We don’t know what it would do to you, for all we know it’ll give you some horrible infection that could ki-“

“Yeah but cmon” Cyrus lingered on the words. “What if I say please?” Cyrus smiled with exaggeration just as their waiter appeared with two plates of food in hand. The reddish orange wings smelled of buffalo sauce and strong spice, making Cyrus’s mouth water. Cyrus looked down at his own plate, a Caesar salad that had been nicely dressed. Sobek pulled the plate closer to his side of the booth.

“I’ll think about it, well talk about this later.” Sobek said half wanting to end the conversation and half genuinely considering giving his friend what he wanted. After all, he hadn’t really encountered any blatant negatives to his condition over the years, and it might be nice to have someone to relate to. Sobek reached forward and grabbed one of the steaming wings, the warm temperature feeling pleasant against his fingers. Cyrus watched as his friend opened his mouth almost comically wide, the hissing sound from earlier slipping out as Sobek dropped an entire wing into his mouth and swallowed without effort.

“Did you just-“ Cyrus looked at Sobek with awe as Sobek grinned and dropped each wing into his mouth one after the other with no pauses. Allowing himself to clear the entire plate, bones and all. “So you just, eat the entire thing then.” Sobek smiled back, not bothering to hide his conical teeth. Cyrus ate another forkful of his salad, enjoying the thick and creamy dressing yet still regretting not stealing a wing or two from his friend.

“It’s nice to have fun once and a while” Sobek stated as he licked the hot buffalo sauce off his fingers. The tangy, zesty flavor feeling familiar and yummy. “but yea, I watched some nature documentaries on crocs to try and figure some stuff out. Like, my throat is different now than it used to be, I don’t even know if I have a gag reflex but its generally easier for me to just swallow the entire thing. I still _can_ chew food but its like my brain doesn’t want me to.” The waiter approached the table once more and collected the plate, only pausing momentarily as he clearly registered the lack of chicken bones. He glanced at the two men and lingered on Sobek for a moment before visibly dropping interest int eh subject and moving on. Sobek felt a reminder of his itchiness, his scales begging to shed their human skin coverings. “Okay, before we continue this conversation, I’m just gonna say that we don’t know _where_ exactly this… condition or whatever it is. Goes. Like, maybe my fucking legs fall of, or maybe I literally turn into an alligator and-“

“crocodile” Cyrus corrected.

“-yeah crocodile.” Sobek corrected himself. “I’m just saying that this isn’t exactly charted territory and I don’t want anything to happen to you over a stupid decision.” Cyrus nodded approvingly at the care his friend was showing.

“I understand… just, just promise you’ll consider it.” Cyrus widened his eyes and attempted to lull Sobek into approval. Sobek visibly sniffed the air, and excitedly cleared the small area in front of him in order to prepare for his upcoming plate. The waiter reappeared with two plates in hand, placing them in front of their respective patrons. Cyrus watched as a clear droplet of liquid escaped Sobek’s mouth and slid down his chin, just as he raised his arm and wiped it away with his sleeve.

Sobek stared down at the plate of food. The toasted bun and sesame seeds on top smelled freshly baked, massive in size and practically just a disc of bread. The food had clearly not been sitting at the hot plate for too long, the bun had yet to absorb the leaking fluids from the meat. Sobek reached down and lifted the burger, the meat patty held itself together just barely as its minimally cooked exterior poked out from between the green lettuce and solid white onion rings. Sobek inhaled deeply at the prospect of his meal, a reddish clear liquid dripping to the plate. Sobek eyed the waiter, assuring he was out of view. He leaned forward and sunk his teeth into the burger, the soft meat tearing away without effort. Sobek swallowed without chewing, the warm meat sliding down his throat and feeling completely natural in his new body. Sobek didn’t even look up from his meal, in one bit he had consumed roughly a third of the massive burger. If Sobek could see the situation he was in now just a handful of years ago he would have laughed at the absurdity. The idea of a nearly lifelong vegetarian now eating an entire pound of ground beef, not even counting the whole crocodile thing. Sobek took another bite and savored the wet meat, letting it sit in his mouth for a second or two longer than he normally would have before swallowing once more. Within a matter of minutes, Sobek had cleared the entire burger from his plate and was left with only a small portion of golden French fries. Cyrus looked up from his plate, the chicken breast nearly completely untouched yet clearly at a loss of words.

“So now that I know about your… condition. You’re just not gonna hide anything from me right.” Cyrus asked reassuringly as he watched his friend attempt to eat a french fry.

“Uh yeah basically, I never really was one for secrets before. But now that you know, I can just not really hold back. And yes. Before you ask, I am having trouble with the fries. I’m pretty sure I can still eat non meat food without an issue, but its like there’s an instinct telling me not to. Kinda like how you sit there and you want to go on a roller coaster cause you know its fun, but your brain doesn’t want you to.” Sobek inserted the fry into his mouth and swallowed the stick whole. “Damn, I keep forgetting to force myself to chew” he laughed lightly.

The pair finished their meal in peace, neither ordering dessert. Cyrus offered to pay for Sobek’s meal in honor of his ‘coming out’ and likely as a bit of brownnosing Sobek surmised. They thanked the waiter and arose from their seats, heading towards the exit. Cyrus pulled his jacket closed and Sobek adjusted his shirt, both bracing themselves for the cold air on reflex. Upon stepping into the parking lot, the complete lack of natural light was startling after the bright fluorescents of the restaurant. “thanks for dinner man” Sobek addressed Cyrus as they kicked the powdery snow around, walking towards the rear of the restaurant parking lot.

“I’m parked just back here” Cyrus stated as they strolled together. Sobek felt the body heat he had accumulated begin to escape, the sluggishness had not set in yet but a few more minutes in the snow and chilling weather would end with him being nearly immobile. The back of the lot was barren at such a late time of night, the only vehicles being Cyrus’s truck and a relatively beat up sedan with open doors. Sobek picked up on some nondescript whispering and shuffling, his advanced hearing not super helpful in the winter due to the increased sound padding from the blankets of snow. Sobek saw the three men in the blackness first and exclaimed in surprise. He nudged Cyrus aggressively and began sprinting to the car, the sudden movement springing his unused muscles to life. The pair both shouted as they watched human shapes shuffle away from the rear windows and began shouting at each other, rushing towards the beat-up sedan. Sobek rapidly approached a man that was somewhat taller than him, his black hoodie and denim jeans not doing much to protect him from the cold weather. Sobek’s shoulder connected with the man at full force, pushing the two against the nearby sedan parked just a couple of spaces away from Cyrus’s pickup. Sobek grunted as he made contact against the larger man and felt his jaw snap closed as they made contact against the hardened metal of the sedan’s door. The two other men were visibly startled by the sudden attack and another was caught semi-prepared by Cyrus’s attack. Cyrus threw his fists forward awkwardly and undisciplined, connecting against a middle-aged man with an unkempt goatee who appeared to be the same size and body shape as Cyrus. The third man, another middle-aged man who was probably in his mid-fifties ran to support his accomplice in crime. He closed the short distance towards Sobek who at this point was awkwardly pushing his target against the car door, neither making much progress against one another. The attacker grasped Sobek by his collar and pulled aggressively, lifting the boy of lesser size into the air a few inches before swinging him aside and throwing him forward. Sobek grunted loudly and hissed loudly, such an abnormal sound causing one of the men to raise an eyebrow curiously.

The largest of the three men, the one that Sobek had pinned against the car had now recovered and repositioned himself adjacent to the man who had rescued him. He threw his fist forward in an unruly manner, connecting to Sobek’s face at full force. “Fuck!” he yelled as he clutched his fist tightly to his body, his knuckles bleeding lightly. Sobek hissed once more as he recovered from the punch instantaneously, his vision slightly blurred in one eye from the now displaced contact lens. Sobek looked towards the man clutching his fist, his now blurred vision only a minor inconvenience in the overall situation.

Cyrus watched as Sobek’s face connected directly with an aggressive punch and how he instantly recoiled back to his position, a large segment of skin across his face now completely missing. His now half visibly scaled face accompanied by the misaligned scleral lens that revealed his truly green eyes beneath. Cyrus was shaken out of his concern for his friend as he felt an aggressive attack to his gut, the brief distraction allowed his target an opening. The man laughed as he wallowed in his success. Cyrus struggled to breathe; the air knocked completely out of his lungs. Cyrus felt his diaphragm spasm in an attempt to recover as he coughed loudly. The man kicked him once more with slightly less force, the steel toe of his work boot cracking loudly against Cyrus’s jaw. He fell to the ground with a thud, his likely broken jaw sending waves of incredible pain through his skull. Cyrus groaned loudly, still conscious but unable to move much. “Hhhthh” he awkwardly groaned out, feeling a hard rock like substance in his mouth. The man who had assaulted him looked down and eyed Cyrus writhing body for a moment before turning to assess how his partners in crime were coming along.

Sobek watched as the two men looked unsurely at each other, his sudden new appearance startling their confidence. Sobek hissed loudly once more, the crocodilian call eliciting a primal fear amongst his attackers. “Yo What the FUCK” one of the men called out and looked around rapidly. Sobek casually pulled his folded contact out of his eye, his vision now entirely free in one eye. The two closer men glanced over at the collapsed body nearby and then back to Sobek, clearly imagining this was going to be an easy fight that they could have just looted and absconded from. “Yo man what the fuck what the fuck” the injured one repeated loudly with visible fear growing as he stared at the reptilian body in front of him. Sobek breathed heavily, seething in place from the activity; his new body clearly unable to perform high energy activity for long. Sobek stepped slowly towards the nearest man, knowing full well he needed to take it slow overall but not give them an inch. The third man, who had bodied Cyrus decided to take a chance and rushed forward. His advanced size would likely have been an advantage in most cases however Sobek was not a normal victim. The man threw his fist forward in a downward motion and locked his arm, Sobek didn’t attempt to dodge keeping in mind that he needed to expel as little energy as possible. He flexed his shoulder as the man connected and heard a snap as the idiot broke his elbow.

“Now now” Sobek hissed out tauntingly. “I’m no expert but why would you lock your arm?” Sobek joked as he teased the man. The goon recoiled and clutched his deformed elbow, Sobek rolled his shoulder forward in order stretch comfortably. The other nearby man produced a small black rectangle from his jacket pocket and snapped its blade out with a click. He shook nervously as Sobek reached towards his eyeball and removed his other lens carefully, dropping to the floor and revealing his threatening moss colored eyes to his attackers. Sobek grunted as he felt his muscles stress from the physical activity, his new body not designed for anything more than lurking or very short bursts of attacks. The aggressor yelled with faux confidence as he swiped wildly at Sobek, his body language changing from playful and in control to that of pure fight-or-flight. Sobek did his best to step back, avoiding the initial swipe of the blade but on the second lunge the blade connected and sliced the cotton cloth of his shirt clean diagonally across his entire upper body. Sobek clutched his chest in reflex from the attack, not feeling any pain from the attack, just a small disturbance in the uniformity of his scaled belly plates that had absorbed any chance the weapon had at penetrating. The man did take the brief pause to grunt again and lean into his next attack, lunging the blade forward and jabbing the point into his target’s center mass. Sobek flinched and covered his face with his clawed hands just as he felt a violent pain in his right upper abdominal quadrant. Sobek coughed in surprise as the air was knocked out of him, now feeling infinitely more fear than he had just moments before. Clearly aware of his own mortality and the seriousness of the situation, the adrenaline beginning to subside as endorphins worked to combat the shearing pain of having been impaled. Sobek stumbled backwards as glanced over to Cyrus’s body who had pulled himself up and leaned himself against the nearby car, his breathing somewhat erratic but generally alive and okay. Before Sobek could reevaluate his next move he felt the man who had stabbed him connect his entire body mass against Sobek’s body and knock him to the ground. Sobek fell straight down to the cold, snow covered asphalt of the parking lot and felt a second wave of crushing pain as his tailbone broke his fall. The two other men had collected their wits once they saw that their friend had stunned their mark. Sobek clutched his abdomen as he sat on the floor hunched slightly forward. The handle of the short blade was jutting out and Sobek felt every minute movement it made resonate to his internal organs. A dark red fluid oozed slowly out of the hole and soaked into the tatters of his shirt and the cloth of his pants. Sobek felt his focus blurring in and out as the three others approached him. He looked up with a confused and almost pitiful face as the largest of the three men shouted something incoherent and threw his fist forward.

“Aghh Fuck you!” the man yelled as his fist connected with Sobek’s face. His entire knuckle splitting open with a mild ‘crack’ as the conical teeth of their victim sheared off the skin.

“Why the fuck would you punch him in the mouth?!” one asked rhetorically with a half-hearted laugh. Sobek fell fully to the ground, completely supine and splayed out in defeat. His heart pumped strongly as the blood continued to ooze out of the wound. Sobek groaned as a new pain, a unique and bizarre pain formed.

“fuck you!” the third man hollered as he began kicking the helpless body repeatedly, laughing as his friends joined in.

Sobek took each attack, each kick without so much as a grunt. He lay there silently as the ache in his bones grew exponentially. Sobek flexed his hands into a fist, digging his claws into his palm in an attempt to dull the onslaught of so many different sources of discomfort. He bit down on his lips, the incredibly sharp teeth not even requiring much pressure before tearing the flesh open. It was at this moment that Sobek could no longer hold silent, he screamed in raw unadulterated agony as the scaled skin along his legs tore open from the inside. His femurs now completely visible if not for the now blood-soaked pants covering them. He continued screaming, a pure scream of pain and agony that he had never reached before. His biceps tore open just as his legs had, the muscles swelling and bulging as his previously scaled skin thickened and hardened. The dark plates of green scales growing quickly over the constantly growing and tearing skin and muscle, trying to close the wound before being separated once more by another surge of growth. Sobek’s screams drowned and gurgled as what was likely blood and other fluids filled his throat and oral cavity.

The attackers ceased their assault and stepped back in fear. One turned to the other and they both shared a look of dread. All three men turned quickly and retreated to the nearby vehicle where Cyrus lay in a dazed state, watching. The almost comical sound of a grown man digging through his pockets for his car keys jingled loudly.

Sobek’s screams turned silent as blood spilled out of his mouth and onto the white snow. The contrasting white and red appearing beautiful in its simplicity. Sobek struggled to determine where exactly all of his pain was originating from as the tearing and ripping hopped around his entire system. His face tore open and he struggled to breathe for a moment as a snout formed, several conical teeth falling to the snow out of his previously human sized head before a much larger new set tore through his gums in replacement. Sobek gurgled on the ground and choked on several loose teeth as he attempted to look around, catching only a glimpse of what he assumed could only be his own body. Before he could even think about surveying the situation another aggressive pain tore through his back, focused through his spinal column. Sobek cried as his likely bruised tailbone burned and ached, bleeding into the scraps of his pants. A long counterweight grew quickly from nothing, the new flesh, meat, and crocodilian plates sending electrical signals randomly across his body. New nerves firing and new muscles flexing as the long tail tapered off into its tip. Through the haze he saw that his boots had ripped open, massive four-toed feet that bent awkwardly at the shins forming a digitigrade appearance surprised him. His pants now nothing but shreds of cloth fell to the side as he rolled over and looked at the exaggerated ivory color of his belly and anterior scales. The majority of the pain had subsided as all that remained was a general dull ache and an incredible hunger, likely from the unbelievable number of calories his body had burned as it formed into such a threat. Sobek rolled over once more on to his belly as he struggled to his knees. As he exhaled slowly and coughed a swathe of blood onto the snow once more he hissed loudly. A sound that had only mimicked that of a nature documentary before now sounding infinitely more threatening than any animal on earth could produce. Sobek outstretched his arms for support to aid his rise to a standing position. _New feet, that’s weird_ he thought to himself as his digitigrade legs struggled to work in unison with his mental commands. The man that had position himself in front of the driver’s seat of the car finally produced his keys with a successful sigh of relief before turning to the result of their attack.

The man felt a warm liquid pool in his right pant-leg, having peed himself in terror. Sobek wobbled to his feet and stood up, his relaxed posture being slightly hunched over as his new tail balanced him equally. Although Sobek should have been in a panic, or at least disoriented from the complete overhaul of his anatomy, he rather stood there in a sort of bliss as his new body felt natural. The ultimate culmination of his small changes over the last few years. Passing thoughts flicked by, _would this be permanent_ , _What exactly do I even look like now_ , _how will-_ he interrupted his own train of thought as his environment finally registered to his brain. A low bass chortle escaped his throat as he realized he could deal with all of these things later. Still unsure if he could even speak, he grunted as he attempted to work around the entirely new muscles that filled his throat. Before he could even try to verbalize a familiar discomfort reminded him of the events leading up to the situation. He looked downward, his new head making a clear look at his own abdomen difficult as he caught the corner of a plastic handle protruding from his abdomen. _Ah yes_ he reached down with his massive hands and plucked the weapon from his body, the initial removal producing a momentary sting akin to pulling a tooth. Without so much as a wince his body compensated and the wound oozed out a single line of blood before sealing itself with a natural clot and rapidly covering over with newly regenerated tissue. The blade dropped to the ground without a sound as the snow muffled its connection. Sobek stepped forward towards the vehicle the men stood beside, All snapping to reality as soon as Sobek began his movement. The car doors opened and closed within seconds as all men wanted nothing more than to escape what they feared was their inevitable death. The engine struggled for three seconds before turning over finally. Sobek closed the distance in nothing more than two steps, standing next to the sedan finally realizing how large he actually was now. The massive creature towered over the sedan, probably somewhere between 8 to 12 feet tall depending on how aggressively he straightened his spine. Sobek heard the engine suddenly roar as the vehicle remained in place, the driver likely forgetting to take the shift out of drive. Sobek grasped the top of the vehicle, the area where the thin metallic roof connected to the glass windshield. His large talons sliding through the aluminum of the roof with little effort. Sobek ripped back and peeled the entire rooftop off creating the visual equivalent of a sardine can being opened. The three men screamed in sheer horror as a monster straight out of any nightmare drooled into their vehicle. His evergreen back plates and ivory belly plates completely stained with the copious amounts of blood from his transformation.

Cyrus struggled to maintain consciousness after receiving such a heavy hit to his skull. Drool flowed from between his teeth and onto the snow below, the occasional red string of mucus filled blood hugging along his split chin. Darkness was all he could see as mild panic set in, the fear of blindness sparking the reality that Cyrus’s eyes were simply shut and mildly swollen. His head stirred as he drifted in and out of lucidity, a primal scream filling his eardrums of what he could only assume was his dearest friend. Another passing lucid moment drifted by filled with a low earthly chortle that rattled the very water his body was made up of. A small wave of fear slithered through Cyrus as the air filled with the smell of iron. The cries of terror emanating from the vehicle he leaned against brought a smile to Cyrus’s face, as he struggled to open his eyes and finally see what was happening. The sound of tearing metal finally forced Cyrus into a nigh-permanent lucidity, He pushed himself forward and onto his hands and knees before coming to a standing position. A monstrous figure towered besides him, holding the white sheet of metal that was the car’s roof in his claws. _Oh that must be Sobek_ he said calmly, his mind easily putting two and two together. “Go gettem” he slurred out between loose teeth and the realization of how absurd the situation was.

Sobek waved his hand and flopped it aggressively, attempting to separate the vehicle’s roof from his claws. The men in the vehicle continued screaming until one of them flailed in his seat for a moment as he ripped out a small handgun. The man didn’t even aim as he fired off several rounds in the general direction of the monster. The bullets collided with Sobek’s softer frontal plates and did not so much as create a dent. The weak power of a 9mm handgun unable to stand up to the sheer might of such an unholy creature. Sobek finally felt the release of the metal from his claws and reached back into the vehicle, all three men flailing wildly in several attempts to free themselves from the situation. The attacker in the backseat with the firearm still pulling the trigger until the saddening ‘click’ sounded. The other two pulling at the door handles and slamming the car horn. Sobek grasped the steering wheel in the front seat and ripped it off effortlessly before tossing it to the side of the parking lot, the airbag deploying moments later and just blowing the powdery snow into the air. As if the leader of the group, the man in the driver’s seat, accepted his fate he suddenly reduced his movement drastically. Sobek wrapped his hand around the man’s upper body, encasing him with a squeeze. His hand crushing the man’s clavicle and some of his ribs with enough force to crush an engine block. Sobek lifted him to his face and opened his maw without hesitation. Sobek could argue that he wasn’t in his right mind and it was the recent transformation and sheer hunger that made him do it, but deep down he knew it was all a choice. Sobek bit down and separated everything from below the sternum. His dangling arms falling to the ground with spurts of blood as the shoulders of the man no longer existed. Sobek swallowed happily, the bloody meat tasting fresh and pleasant. As it slid down his throat, still in one whole piece, he thought of his earlier meal, mentally comparing the man to nothing more than a restaurant burger. Sobek threw the rest of the body to the side, not particularly wanting to eat the entire body, specifically feeling uncomfortable with the idea of consuming human intestines. The man with the firearm had grown silent as arterial spray spurted across the pair after Sobek relieved his prey of his life. Sobek mentally laughed as he noticed the man had straight up feinted in fear. The third man, the one who sat in the passenger seat of the vehicle and had been the one who hurt Cyrus whimpered and threw himself over the side of the door. He landed with a thud onto the snowy ground and thrashed awkwardly as he got to his feet. Sobek considered letting the man run but decided he just didn’t feel like it, an underlying predatory instinct insisting he capture the escaping prey. The man sprinted as fast as he could as Sobek closed the distance in nearly a quarter of the steps. His massive size and strong legs allowing pursuit to be nothing more than an inconvenience. Sobek scooped the escaping man in his hand similarly to how he had done so just a minute or two prior. The ‘crunch’ followed by an oh so human scream resounded throughout Sobek’s new ear canals. The sound sparking a new wave of saliva to ooze out from between his fangs. Sobek’s claws had pierced this man in a similar manner to the last, partially collapsing his clavicle and scapula as a couple of ribs splintered outward. The vascular pinkish red of his lungs shone through the widening gap as his flesh struggled to hold itself together. The muscles squelched and squealed as the tendons separated from the bone, gravity pulling the center mass downwards. The man’s screams and cries dying out as he either passed out or even died from shock. Sobek used his other hand to dangle the meat into his massive mouth, starting with the dangling arm that leaned away from tearing body. Sobek debated with the idea of simply consuming the entire body or not before separating the upper appendage from the center mass with a wet snap. The coppery and metallic flavor of blood filled his mouth once more. Sobek savored the uniqueness of such a texture and taste that was unlike anything else he had eaten. The warm body slithered down Sobek’s throat as he continued pushing the rest of it down his maw in several pieces. Sobek felt his tail swish side to side in content, brushing large swaths of blood-stained snow into small piles. Sobek licked his fingers of the remnants, his new tongue slurping around the snout of his new face and sliding back into his mouth.

              Sobek finally paused and relished in his new situation. The carnage around him finally calmed to nothing more than a dull hum from the vehicle’s engine idling. Sobek surveyed his surroundings and even tried to look at his own body to little avail. Cyrus had moved to his own pickup at some point during the violence and leaned against the driver’s door, his weak body language starting to diminish in favor of awareness and lucidity. “Hey man uh, you’re… not gonna eat me or anything right?” Cyrus sputtered out somewhat clearly. Sobek whipped his head around to the source of the sound, forcing a yelp in response from Cyrus. Sobek chortled once more, the inhuman laughing sound rumbling Cyrus’s body.

“N-“ Sobek struggled to mutter through his new body, coughing loudly before attempting once more. “No.” the new voice rattled with an incredibly deep bass that at close range would vibrate an entire body. His scratchy and monstrous hissing speech lingering on certain sounds, “I’m still in here” Sobek spoke, attempting a comforting smile, his crocodilian lips peeling back and revealing his blood stained and flesh covered chompers.

“So uh” Cyrus clutched his jaw that bled slowly, his slurred speech pattern evident of his struggle to reduce the pain in his mouth. “I kinda need to go to the hospital, and I think-“ Cyrus looked around at the crime scene before them that would likely be the source of dozens of police officers as soon as it was reported. “Maybe we should-“ Cyrus tried to absorb the sight  before him “-hide you? Or something… I guess just get in the back of my truck if you’ll fit and we’ll figure it out dude.” Sobek couldn’t help but assume his friend was just being cool about the whole situation because his actions had just not quite set in yet. Sobek nodded and attempted to step into the back of the pickup, the entire body of vehicle creaking loudly as the suspension struggled to hold the massive weight. Cyrus started up the engine and brushed away the broken glass that the men had caused in their break-in attempt. The vehicle pulled away and left the parking lot just as a piercing scream echoed from where they had just been. Sobek leaned forward to the small window behind the truck cabin just as Cyrus slid it open with his right hand.

“Guess he woke up.” Sobek spoke with mild humor as the pair laughed nervously at the whole situation.

 

 

 

Epilogue:

              Cyrus stared vacantly at the television screen in the center of the bedroom, providing the only light source to the entire interior. The hissing of the bathroom shower sounded through muffled through the door before a loud clattering along with an exclamation of “SHIT” buffered through the door. The water ran for another minute before shutting off abruptly. Cyrus felt a strong urge to scratch his jawline but the wiring and metal frame holding it in place prevented such an action. The bathroom door opened moments later and a small cloud of mist and steam flowed out of the significantly warmer room. Sobek stood in the doorway wrapped in a towel. “So,-“ he turned around, the back of the towel resting awkwardly over a large protrusion that rested on the floor. “Is it noticeable?” Sobek asked unsurely, motioning to his tail as he spun in a circle. Cyrus coughed out a giggle at the ridiculous question as Sobek frowned. “Well shit, I’m gonna need to figure out a new way to deal with this whole thing” he said as he let go of the towel letting it drop to the floor. Cyrus couldn’t help but admire the inhuman reptilian body, having finally figuring out how to return to a semi-human form after the parking lot situation the prior week. Cyrus stared at his friend’s digitigrade legs, the four claws supporting him to the floor as his tail provided a counterweight. “Well at least I don’t have that snout anymore, I can see my legs again” he said happily with a light kick outward. Cyrus continued staring deeply as Sobek finally decided to walk over to Cyrus and sit on the bed beside him, not bothering to clothe himself. Cyrus continued staring, wordlessly, as Sobek sat beside him. Sobek smiled warmly to Cyrus and patted his thigh, allowing his partner to rest comfortably on his leg. “thanks for being here for me man, it means a lot” Sobek leaned forward and kissed Cyrus through the metallic cage, his own cold lips feeling the warmth from his boyfriend.


End file.
